favela tourist death

21 killed in latest police raid on Rio favela

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – An anti-crime operation in a Rio de Janeiro slum left 21 people dead Tuesday, officials said, a year after the bloodiest-ever favela raid in the city's history.

Issued on: 24/05/2022 - 21:52 Modified: 24/05/2022 - 21:50

Health officials put the toll at 20, with seven hospitalized, while police counted another victim -- a female bystander felled by a stray bullet.

Military police said they came under gunfire as they approached the northern Rio slum called Vila Cruzeiro in the early morning hours with the mission of locating and arresting "criminal leaders."

The toll nearly doubled from the initially reported 11 deaths as more bodies were uncovered in the aftermath.

Police said at least 11 of the dead were "suspects."

At least 19 schools in the area closed because of the gunfire, residents said.

Police helicopters were also struck by bullets during the deadly exchange.

Police often carry out raids in Rio's teeming slums in a bid to fight drug trafficking.

This time, they said they were looking for gang leaders from other parts of Brazil hiding out in Vila Cruzeiro.

"It was an operation planned for weeks, but we identified criminal movements during the night and decided to intervene," said team member Colonel Luiz Henrique Marinho Pires.

He said the suspects were readying to move to another favela.

This was the deadliest police raid since 28 people died a year ago in a favela called Jacarezinho -- the largest such toll in the city's history.

Vila Cruzeiro, a favela crowded onto a hillside not far from Rio de Janeiro's international airport, was also the scene of a violent confrontation in February, when police killed eight people.

Tuesday's pre-dawn raid targeted the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, one of Brazil's most powerful crime gangs "responsible for more than 80 percent of the shootings in Rio," a police spokesman told TV Globo.

No body cams

Officers seized 13 assault rifles, four pistols, 20 motorcycles and 10 cars in the raid.

No arrests were reported.

The operation was criticized in some quarters for its use of overwhelming force.

"Another massacre. Schools closed, thousands of people terrorized," tweeted left-wing city councilman Tarcisio Motta.

"The policy of extermination runs its course in Rio."

Residents and activists have often denounced official abuse, including extrajudicial killings of suspects, which they say often goes unpunished.

"These operations in the favelas put the entire population at risk and prevent the functioning of public services. We know they would never be tolerated in upscale neighborhoods," Guilherme Pimentel, a public defender, told AFP.

Rio police officers were meant to start wearing cameras on their uniforms this month to film all acts in the line of duty, but use of the equipment has been postponed.

Security experts believe cameras may help prevent abuse but will not solve all the problems, and their introduction should be accompanied by comprehensive police reform.

Experts advocate for abandoning confrontation in the endless fight against drug trafficking, with a focus instead on disrupting the gangs' money flow.

"Rio needs a new public safety policy that is not the bullet," Human Rights Watch said.

Brazilian police are among the world's deadliest, responsible for more than 6,100 fatalities in 2021 -- an average of 17 per day, according to a violence monitor count.

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At least 11 dead in Brazilian police raid in favela: Authorities

Police say early-morning raid in Rio de Janeiro favela community aimed to capture leaders of drug-trafficking group.

At least 11 people have been fatally shot in a Brazilian police raid in an impoverished favela community on the north side of Rio de Janeiro, authorities have said.

Police said Tuesday’s early-morning raid in the Vila Cruzeiro favela aimed to capture the leaders of a drug-trafficking organisation.

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Brazil: police launch major operation in impoverished rio favela, ‘stop killing us’: rio favela residents demand answers after raid, death toll from police raid in rio de janeiro favela rises to 28.

The deaths included a woman who was hit in an exchange of gunfire. Police said 10 suspected gang members who resisted the operation and opened fire on police with automatic weapons were also killed.

“It was a very intense confrontation,” Colonel Ivan Blaz, spokesman for the militarised police force that led the operation, told reporters. He said the woman could have been hit by a shot fired from inside Vila Cruzeiro.

Residents said on social media that heavy shooting began in darkness at 4am local time (07:00 GMT) in a wooded area next to the community, causing fear and panic.

Vila Cruzeiro, a favela crowded onto a hillside not far from Rio de Janeiro’s international airport, had already been the scene of violent confrontation in February, when police killed eight people.

Tuesday’s raid was the latest fatal police operation in a Rio de Janeiro favela, the likes of which have prompted concerns from rights groups for years.

Last May, more than two dozen people were killed in a raid in the city’s Jacarezinho favela.

That operation prompted outrage and protests among residents, who said they felt terrorised and trapped in their community, and prompted calls for an independent investigation from human rights organisations and United Nations officials.

“We remind the Brazilian authorities that the use of force should be applied only when strictly necessary, and that they should always respect the principles of legality, precaution, necessity and proportionality,” a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in May 2021 about that specific incident.

“Lethal force should be used as a last resort and only in cases where there is an imminent threat to life or of serious injury.”

Tuesday’s operation in Vila Cruzeiro was criticised for its use of overwhelming force.

“Another massacre. Schools closed, thousands of people terrorised,” left-wing city councilman Tarcisio Motta wrote on Twitter. “The policy of extermination runs its course in Rio.”

Brazilian news website G1 said the Vila Cruzeiro raid targeted the Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, one of Brazil’s most powerful crime gangs.

Police said there were gunfights in high-ground areas of the favela itself and in wooded grounds surrounding it.

Police seized seven assault rifles, five pistols, 10 motorcycles and six cars in Tuesday’s raid.

Brazilian police are among the world’s deadliest, responsible for more than 6,100 fatalities in 2021, or an average of 17 per day, according to the G1 violence monitor’s count in partnership with the University of Sao Paulo and the non-governmental Public Safety Forum.

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A raid in a rio favela left 18 dead, sparking renewed police violence complaints.

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A resident waves a white sheet in protest and to ask for peace after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Silvia Izquierdo/AP hide caption

A resident waves a white sheet in protest and to ask for peace after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

RIO DE JANEIRO — A raid of Rio de Janeiro's largest complex of favelas that left at least 18 people dead has sparked renewed complaints of excessive police violence and ignited debate over how to handle crime ahead of state and presidential elections.

Rio authorities said 16 suspected criminals were killed in confrontations with police in Complexo do Alemao favela, or low-income community, along with a police officer and a woman. The raid targeted a criminal group that stole cars and robbed banks, and invaded nearby neighborhoods.

Videos circulating on social media showed intense shootouts between criminals as well as a police helicopter flying low over the small, brick houses. Rio's police have used helicopters to shoot at targets, even in densely populated residential areas, and video showed shots being fired from the favela at the aircraft.

At the site of the raid, Associated Press reporters saw residents carrying about 10 bodies as bystanders shouted, "We want peace!"

"It's a massacre inside, which police are calling an operation," one woman told AP, speaking on the condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals from authorities. "They're not letting us help (victims)," she added, saying she saw one man arrested for attempting to do so.

Residents shout at police in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Silvia Izquierdo/AP hide caption

Residents shout at police in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

Ronaldo Oliveira, an investigator with Rio's police force, said officials would have rather just made arrests of suspects "but unfortunately they chose to fire at our policemen."

Rio state Gov. Cláudio Castro, who is running for reelection in October, said on Twitter he lamented the police officer's death.

"I will continue to fight crime with all my strength. We will not back down from the mission of guaranteeing peace and security to the people of our state," Castro said.

In another tweet, Castro said his main rival in the elections, leftist Marcelo Freixo, defends criminals who attack police, "such an important institution that makes us so proud." Freixo responded that the governor "uses police to make politics."

The government's strategy for tackling violence and organized crime, an approach that regularly sees deadly police operations, has come under criticism. A raid in Rio's Vila Cruzeiro favela in May killed more than 20 people.

Security will be a key issue in Brazil's presidential elections in October

Brazil will also hold presidential elections in October with security a key issue and President Jair Bolsonaro touting a tough-on-crime approach.

"ENOUGH of this genocidal policy, governor!" Talíria Petrone, a federal lawmaker for Rio, said in response to the governor's tweet. "This failed public security policy leaves residents and police on the ground, en masse. It's no longer possible to keep piling up Black bodies and favela residents every day!"

Robert Muggah, co-founder of Igarapé Institute, a Rio de Janeiro-based think tank focused on security, said Thursday's raid is "a symptom of failed leadership and an institutional culture that condones excessive force."

"The killings resulting from large scale police operations is a grim reminder that militarized policing is not only ineffective, it is counterproductive," Muggah said in a text message, adding those raids generate "extreme violence predominantly affecting low-income Black populations while also corroding the trust between residents and law enforcement."

Police conduct an operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Silvia Izquierdo/AP hide caption

Police conduct an operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

Alemao is a complex of 13 favelas in northern Rio, home to about 70,000 people. Nearly three-quarters of them at Black or biracial, according to a July 2020 study published by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economical Analyses.

Earlier this year, Brazil's Supreme Court established a series of conditions for police to conduct raids in Rio's favelas as a means to reduce police killings and human rights violations. The court ordered that lethal force be used only in situations in which all other means have been exhausted and when necessary to protect life.

The ruling came in response to a raid on the Jacarezinho favela in 2021 that resulted in 28 people being killed. As was the case Thursday, an officer died during that raid, which some speculated at the time was the cause for subsequent abuse and summary executions.

Latin America

U.n. calls for investigation as police in brazil kill at least 24 in rio drug raid.

Thursday's operation began before dawn and finished around 4 p.m. local time, police said. Nearly 400 police officers were involved, including Rio's tactical police unit, according to the police statement.

In a video shared by Voz da Comunidade, a community news outlet focused on Rio's favelas, residents can be seen calling for peace and waving white cloths from their windows and rooftops.

Fabrício Oliveira, one of the coordinators of the police raid, said authorities fear that Friday could be another violent day at the Complexo do Alemao.

"Our experience has told us that after raids like these police are attacked in every way," Oliveira said.

Human rights group Amnesty International said on Twitter that prosecutors must immediately investigate policemen involved in Thursday's raid.

"WHO WILL STOP Gov. Cláudio Castro and his disastrous and rights violating public security policies in Rio de Janeiro," the non-profit said. "Enough of so much brutality! THE FAVELA WANTS TO LIVE!"

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Rio de Janeiro: at least 25 killed in city’s deadliest police raid on favela

• Raid in violation of court order is city’s deadliest ever
• Police hail blow against drug gangs but critics decry ‘massacre’

At least 25 people have been killed after heavily armed police stormed one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favelas in pursuit of drug traffickers, in what was the deadliest raid in the city’s history.

About 200 members of Rio’s civil police launched their incursion into Jacarezinho in the early hours of Thursday, sprinting into the vast redbrick community as a bullet-proof helicopter circled overhead with snipers poised on each side. By lunchtime at least 25 people were reported dead , among them André Frias, a drug squad officer who was shot in the head. Police and local media described the other victims as “suspects” but offered no immediate evidence for that claim.

Photographs and videos taken by residents and shared with the Guardian showed bloodied corpses splayed out in the favela’s narrow alleyways and beside the heavily polluted river from which Jacarezinho takes its name. The lifeless body of one young man had been propped up on a purple plastic garden chair, with one finger placed inside his mouth.

Police officials and their cheerleaders in Rio’s tabloid press celebrated the mission as an essential attack on the drug gangs who have for decades used the favelas as their bases. “It would be great if the police could launch two operations like this every day to free Rio de Janeiro from the traffickers, or at least reduce their power,” the host of Balanço Geral, a popular television crime show, told viewers saluting what he called the “surgical” strike.

But there was outrage from human rights activists and public security specialists as the scale of the carnage became clear.

“It’s extermination – there’s no other way to describe it,” said Pedro Paulo Santos Silva, a researcher from Rio’s Centre for Studies on Public Security and Citizenship. “This was a massacre.”

Pablo Nunes, a public security expert from the same group, said the assault had claimed more lives than one of the most notorious slaughters in Rio’s history: the 1993 Vigário Geral massacre in which 21 people were shot dead when police rampaged through a favela just north of Jacarezinho. “It is unbelievable, despicable,” said Nunes.

Joel Luiz Costa, a Jacarezinho-born lawyer and activist, said that in more than three decades in the favela he had never seen such bloodshed. “It was a complete slaughter,” said Costa, who shared disturbing images of the aftermath on social media. “Today was frightening even for those of us who work with public security … The only conclusion you can draw is that in the favelas there is no democracy.”

Before Thursday Rio’s most deadly police operation had taken place in 2007 when 19 people lost their lives during a raid on the nearby Complexo do Alemão community.

Located in north Rio, a 20-minute drive from Ipanema beach, Jacarezinho is home to tens of thousands of working-class Brazilians and has long been a bastion of one of Brazil’s most important criminal organizations, the Red Command.

Rio’s decades-long war on drugs – which has intensified since the mid-1980s and claims thousands of lives each year – has done nothing to change that reality, with Jacarezinho’s streets policed by the gang’s rifle-toting gunmen and barricaded with concrete blocks and barricades improvised from train tracks.

Thursday’s raid, which police said was to prevent children and teenagers being lured into crime, took place despite a supreme court order last June outlawing such incursions during the coronavirus pandemic. The number of police operations in the favelas fell dramatically after that decision but has been increasing again since last October. Recently released figures show police killed 797 people in Rio state between June last year and March, the overwhelming majority in or around the capital.

Santos Silva said his city’s war on drugs was effective when it came to killing but did nothing to protect citizens or reduce crime. “It’s repugnant,” he said of the photographs showing Jacarezinho’s streets littered with dead bodies.

“Irrespective of whether they were ‘traffickers’ or residents, these are lives, these are bodies – somebody’s child, somebody’s brother,” Santos Silva added. “There’s no way of looking at these photos and not wanting to cry over just how sick our society is.”

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Police raid in Brazil that killed at least 18 stirs outrage over use of force

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A raid of Rio de Janeiro’s largest complex of shantytowns that left at least 18 people dead has sparked renewed complaints of excessive police violence and ignited debate over how to handle crime ahead of state and presidential elections.

Rio authorities said 16 suspects were killed in confrontations with police in the Complexo do Alemao favelas, or shantytowns, along with a police officer and a woman. The raid targeted a criminal group that stole cars, robbed banks and invaded nearby neighborhoods.

Videos circulating on social media showed intense shootouts as well as a police helicopter flying low over the small brick houses. Rio’s police have used helicopters to shoot at targets, even in densely populated residential areas, and video showed shots being fired from the favelas at the aircraft.

At the site of the raid, reporters saw residents carrying about 10 bodies as bystanders shouted, “We want peace!”

“It’s a massacre inside, which police are calling an operation,” said one woman, speaking on condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals from authorities. “They’re not letting us help” victims, she added, saying that she saw one man arrested for attempting to do so.

Ronaldo Oliveira, an investigator with Rio’s police force, said officials would have rather just made arrests of suspects, “but unfortunately they chose to fire at our policemen.”

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Rio state Gov. Claudio Castro, who is running for reelection in October, said on Twitter that he lamented the police officer’s death.

“I will continue to fight crime with all my strength. We will not back down from the mission of guaranteeing peace and security to the people of our state,” Castro said.

In another tweet, Castro said his main rival in the election, leftist Marcelo Freixo, defends criminals who attack police, “such an important institution that makes us so proud.”

Freixo responded that the governor “uses police to make politics.”

The government’s strategy for tackling violence and organized crime, an approach that regularly sees deadly police operations, has come under criticism. A raid in Rio’s Vila Cruzeiro favela in May killed more than 20 people .

Police shootout at Rio de Janeiro favela kills more than 20

Police in Rio de Janeiro have raided the Vila Cruzeiro favela in an operation that set off a fierce firefight.

May 24, 2022

Brazil will also hold presidential elections in October , with security a key issue and President Jair Bolsonaro touting a tough-on-crime approach.

“ENOUGH of this genocidal policy, governor!” Taliria Petrone, a federal lawmaker for Rio, said in response to the governor’s tweet. “This failed public security policy leaves residents and police on the ground, en masse. It’s no longer possible to keep piling up Black bodies and favela residents every day!”

Robert Muggah, co-founder of Igarape Institute, a Rio de Janeiro-based think tank focused on security, said Thursday’s raid is “a symptom of failed leadership and an institutional culture that condones excessive force.”

“The killings resulting from large-scale police operations is a grim reminder that militarized policing is not only ineffective, it is counterproductive,” Muggah said in a text message, adding that those raids generate “extreme violence predominantly affecting low-income Black populations while also corroding the trust between residents and law enforcement.”

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Alemao is a complex of 13 favelas in northern Rio that are home to about 70,000 people. Nearly three-quarters of them are Black or biracial, according to a July 2020 study published by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economical Analyses.

Earlier this year, Brazil’s Supreme Court established a series of conditions for police to conduct raids in Rio’s favelas as a means to reduce police killings and human rights violations. The court ordered that lethal force be used only in situations in which all other means have been exhausted and when necessary to protect life.

The ruling came in response to a raid on the Jacarezinho favela in 2021 that resulted in 28 people being killed. As was the case Thursday, an officer died during that raid, which some speculated at the time was the cause for subsequent abuse and executions.

Thursday’s operation began before dawn and finished about 4 p.m. local time, police said. Nearly 400 officers were involved, including Rio’s tactical police unit, according to police.

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In a video shared by Voz da Comunidade, a community news outlet focused on Rio’s favelas, residents can be seen calling for peace and waving white cloths from their windows and rooftops.

Fabricio Oliveira, one of the coordinators of the police raid, said authorities fear that Friday could be another violent day at the Complexo do Alemao.

“Our experience has told us that after raids like these police are attacked in every way,” Oliveira said.

Human rights group Amnesty International said on Twitter that prosecutors must immediately investigate police officers involved in Thursday’s raid.

“WHO WILL STOP Gov. Claudio Castro and his disastrous and rights-violating public security policies in Rio de Janeiro,” the organization said. “Enough of so much brutality! THE FAVELA WANTS TO LIVE!”

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American Tourist Dies After Being Shot By Stray Bullet In Brazil

American tourist Trey Barber, 28, died this Friday after being hit by a stray bullet in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. Barber got shot inside a friend’s apartment in the Cascadura neighborhood, north zone. He was trying to get the television remote control. Rival gangs were involved in a freeway shooting in a favela (slums) nearby.

Known for its beaches and mountains, Rio de Janeiro is the most popular tourist destination in Brazil. Also, the city is famous for its favelas, which are impoverished areas and home to about 1,4 million people (22% of Rio de Janeiro’s population).

The fatal incident occurred last Tuesday. The American tourist was rescued and taken to Hospital Salgado Filho.  He had surgery to remove the bullet. On Thursday, Barber had been transferred to a private hospital. He did not survive his injuries. The hospital confirmed his death.

Barber taught Portuguese in Los Angeles, where he lived. He had been on vacation at her friend’s house in Rio de Janeiro since July.

He was a researcher who graduated from UCLA (the University of California at Los Angeles), where he worked as an assistant professor.

Two other people were also injured during this shooting. The two people were inside a bus. The vehicle was passing through the region during the shooting. They were also initially taken to the same hospital where Barber was taken. Another man was found dead in the middle of the street.

The shooting started around 5:30 pm on Tuesday. The streets w, due to the return of the residents from work.  According to residents, the drug war in the region involves rival drug gangs that dispute the area for drug trafficking.

Travel Noire contacted The Rio de Janeiro City Police Department to ask for more information about the crime. In a statement, the RJPD informed that the investigation is ongoing to find the shooters.

“Due diligence continues to clarify the origin of the shot that hit the victim and identify the author of the crime”, says the police.

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Brazil shocked by warlike police raid that leaves 25 dead in Rio de Janeiro favela

RIO DE JANEIRO — At least 25 people were killed in a police raid Thursday morning in what police and researchers are calling one of the deadliest police shootings in the history of this notoriously violent oceanside metropolis.

Shortly after dawn, police entered the sprawling favela called Jacarezinho, sending in bulletproof helicopters, armored vehicles and dozens of heavily armed police officers to do battle in one of the strongholds of the powerful criminal gang, the Red Command. Police said the criminal group had been enticing children into their ranks.

The conflict dragged on for hours, as residents huddled inside their home, unable to leave. Images showed blood splashed across alleys and households, a room piled with bodies, and people scurrying across rooftops clutching rifles as black-clad police moved into the vast warren of squat brick houses.

By early afternoon, 25 people had been killed, including one police officer.

As police shootings in Rio rise, children are caught in the crossfire

Even in a city long accustomed to extraordinary police violence, where authorities frequently wage warlike operations inside neighborhoods under the control of criminal organizations, the death toll was shocking, showing the enduring grip of violence on Latin America’s largest country.

“Really grim moment in Brazil,” said Robert Muggah, co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, a Rio-based think tank that tracks trends in violence. “These shootings are obviously routine in Rio de Janeiro, but this is unprecedented, in that it’s the operation that has generated the largest number of deaths, ever.”

He called it a “dangerous reminder of the persistence of police violence in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil.”

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In a statement published to social media, police mourned the death of the officer, Andre Leonardo de Mello Frias. Police said the operation was launched based on “concrete intelligence information.”

Black man’s death after savage beating by security guards outrages Brazil

“The criminals reacted forcefully,” police said in a statement . “Not only to flee, but with intent to kill. Unfortunately, the warlike scenario imposed by these criminal groups proved the importance of these operations so that they don’t grow stronger.”

Police violence and crime has in recent years been one of Brazil’s most polarizing political discussions. Police forces kill thousands of Brazilians every year, the overwhelming majority of whom are Black and poor. In 2019 alone, police killed some 5,800 people .

The violent operations have been encouraged by a cadre of political leaders who have won recent elections running on a message that warlike tactics are necessary to curb crime and regain control of territories lost to gangs. “A cop who doesn’t kill isn’t a cop,” President Jair Bolsonaro once said .

But Thursday’s death toll has left many in the country shocked and outraged. Some questioned whether police were flouting a court ruling last year that forbade them from storming favelas during the pandemic unless under “absolutely exceptional” circumstances. Others said the brief respite in police violence that held in the early months of the pandemic was largely over. And others still called it a large-scale execution.

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“In this badly-planned operation a police officer was killed,” said Silvia Ramos, a social scientist at University Candido Mendes. “And this operation became one of revenge. And police simply killed more than 20 people.”

Renata Souza, a state representative raised in Complexo da Maré, a dangerous and large favela frequently targeted by police, called the liberalization of police violence a “policy of death.”

“Security police should be about justice and not vengeance,” she tweeted Thursday . “The governor of Rio is following in the steps of the president and is making genocide a state policy.”

Heloísa Traiano contributed to this report.

[ Bolsonaro has insulted much of the world. Now Brazil needs its help. ]

[ Calls to impeach Bolsonaro are rising, but his grip on Brazil remains strong ]

[ Brazil has become South America’s superspreader event ]

• Travel Updates

Tourist shot dead after straying into Rio favela

A TOURIST who was looking for the beach has been shot dead by armed bandits in Rio after armed bandits thought he was a cop.

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A TOURIST who was looking for the beach when he strayed into a notorious slum in Rio de Janeiro has been shot dead there by drug traffickers.

Italian tourist Roberto Bardella, 52, and his cousin were riding on motorcycles in the Brazilian city when they mistakenly strayed into a favela.

Police said a group of armed bandits opened fire on the two travellers as they entered the Morro dos Prazeres favela in central Rio and forced them off their motorcycles.

Bardella was shot in the head and died while his cousin was held captive for a few hours before being released unharmed.

“They were in Rio as tourists, visiting the statue of Christ the Redeemer, and they consulted their GPS to find their way to the beach,” civil police spokesman Fabio Cardoso told reporters.

They took the wrong road and arrived in Morro dos Prazeres, Mr Cardoso said.

“They were accosted by traffickers. The victim was wearing a camera-mounted helmet, which the traffickers thought meant he was a police officer recording the incident, so they shot the victim, who died.”

Mr Bardella was the third Italian killed in Brazil in three weeks, Italy’s La Repubblica reported.

AFP reports that Mr Bardella and his cousin were travelling through South America on motorcycles and had arrived in Brazil after visiting Argentina and Paraguay.

Police have been attacked in the favela, which is near the scenic hilltop neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, several times in recent years.

The shooting comes amid an alarming rise in crime in Rio, despite efforts to reduce crime before the Brazil hosted the 2014 World Cup and Rio hosted the 2016 Olympics.

An economic crisis, rising unemployment and drained public security budgets have allowed drug traffickers and other criminal gangs to reclaim territory in many Rio neighbourhoods where police previously had the upper hand, according to Reuters.

In the lead-up to the Rio Olympics in August, the city’s police staged a series of protests, including at Rio’s international airport, warning visitors they were woefully under-resourced and ill-equipped to cope with the surging criminal activity .

This week Rio’s new Mayor-elect suggested introducing a bizarre “mugging tax” for tourists so they city could afford to pay compensation to visitors who become the victim of muggings and armed robberies.

Tourists are warned to avoid favelas in Brazil’s major cities, including Rio — even on organised tours.

“Crime levels in shanty towns or ‘favelas’ and many satellite cities are very high. Tourists should avoid these areas, even with a well-organised tour group, and especially at night,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says.

However, tourists say favelas that have been reclaimed by police are safer than others .

Australia has joined the United States in renewing a desperate advisory to this nation as ongoing threats of terrorism and civil unrest erupt.

Health authorities in one state are on high alert after a new case of measles – the 10th this year – was reported at one of Australia’s busiest airports.

New Caledonia’s international airport is closed and Australians are advised to exercise a high degree of caution, as protests turn deadly.

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Rio police raid on favela kills at least 18, sparks anger

Residents use a cart to transport a body after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A woman shouts in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A resident waves a white sheet in protest and to ask for peace after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A police takes part in an operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Multiple deaths were reported during the raid that was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents shout at police in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Police conduct an operation in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Multiple deaths were reported during the raid that was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A resident waves a white sheet in protest after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A resident comforts a wounded man as he is placed in the back of a truck after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents carry a body wrapped in a cloth to a waiting vehicle after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio’s largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents transport a wounded man in the back of a truck after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents place a wounded man in the back of a truck after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents place a wounded man on a dolly after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Police drive through a banner with a message that reads in Portuguese: “Out from the favela killer police”, that was being held by residents in protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A police officer works to remove tires set on fire by residents to protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents walk holding a banner with a message that reads in Portuguese: “Out from the favela killer police”, after a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A military vehicle drives past as residents gather to protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Residents gather to protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A military vehicle drives past tires set on fire by residents to protest against a police operation that resulted in multiple deaths, in the Complexo do Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Police said in a statement it was targeting a criminal group in Rio largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, that stole vehicles, cargo and banks, as well as invaded nearby neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A police operation Thursday targeting gang members in Rio de Janeiro’s largest complex of favelas, or low-income communities, left at least 18 people dead in one of the deadliest raids the city has seen recently and one already bringing more criticism of police violence.

Rio authorities said 16 suspected criminals were killed in confrontations with police in Complexo do Alemao along with a police officer and an woman. A police spokesman said the raid targeted a criminal group that stole cars and robbed banks, and invaded nearby neighborhoods.

Videos circulating on social media showed intense shootouts between criminals as well as a police helicopter flying low over the small, brick houses. Rio’s police have used helicopters to shoot at targets, even in densely populated residential areas, and video showed shots being fired from the favela at the aircraft.

At the site of the raid, Associated Press reporters saw residents carrying about 10 bodies as bystanders shouted, “We want peace!” Residents said those who attempted to help the injured risked arrest.

“It’s a massacre inside, which police are calling an operation,” one woman told AP, speaking on the condition of anonymity because she feared reprisals from authorities. ”They’re not letting us help (victims),” she added, saying she saw one man arrested for attempting to do so.

A Rio’s police force spokesman said some of the criminals wore uniforms to disguise themselves as police officers.

“I would rather they (the suspects) had not reacted and then we could have arrested 15, 14 of them. But unfortunately they chose to fire at our policemen,” said Ronaldo Oliveira, an investigator of Rio’s police.

Rio state Gov. Cláudio Castro said on Twitter he lamented the police officer’s death.

“I will continue to fight crime with all my strength. We will not back down from the mission of guaranteeing peace and security to the people of our state,” Castro said.

But many disagree with the government’s strategy for tackling violence and organized crime, an approach that regularly sees deadly police operations . A raid in Rio’s Vila Cruzeiro favela in May killed more than 20 people.

Thursday’s operation was aimed at locating and arresting criminal leaders, some from other states, police said in an early statement.

“ENOUGH of this genocidal policy, governor!” Talíria Petrone, a federal lawmaker for Rio, said in response to the governor’s tweet. “This failed public security policy leaves residents and police on the ground, en masse. It’s no longer possible to keep piling up Black bodies and favela residents every day!”

Alemao is a complex of 13 favelas in northern Rio, home to about 70,000 people. Nearly three-quarters of them are Afro-Brazilians, according to a July 2020 study published by the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economical Analyses.

Earlier this year, Brazil’s Supreme Court established a series of conditions for police to conduct raids in Rio’s favelas as a means to reduce police killings and violations of human rights. The court ordered that lethal force be used only in situations in which all other means have been exhausted and when necessary to protect life.

The ruling came in response to a raid on the Jacarezinho favela in 2021 that resulted in 28 people being killed. As was the case Thursday, an officer died during that raid, which some speculated at the time was the cause for subsequent abuse and summary executions.

Thursday’s operation began before dawn and finished around 4 p.m. local time, police said. Nearly 400 police officers were involved, including Rio’s tactical police unit, backed up by four helicopters and 10 bullet-proofed vehicles, according to the police statement.

In a video shared by Voz da Comunidade, a community news outlet focused on Rio’s favelas, residents can be seen calling for peace and waving white cloths from their windows and rooftops.

Fabrício Oliveira, one of the coordinators of the police raid, said authorities fear that Friday could be another violent day at the Complexo do Alemao.

“Our experience has told us that after raids like these police are attacked in every way,” Oliveira said.

____ AP journalist Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

Death toll mounts in Rio de Janeiro as police lose control of the city – and of themselves

Coordinator, Centre for Studies on Public Security and Citizenship, Universidade Candido Mendes (UCAM)

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Silvia Ramos receives funding from the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations.

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On June 30, a baby was shot in his mother’s belly in Rio de Janeiro. After the rifle fire hit 29-year-old Claudinéia in the hip in the Favela do Lixão neighbourhood, her son Arthur was delivered via emergency cesarean section. He will be a paraplegic for life.

This was just one of 181 shootings that took place in Rio that June week . A day earlier, Marlene Maria da Conceição, age 72, was shot in the Mangueira favela while picking up her grandson from school . Her daughter, Ana Cristina, 49, was struck when she tried to help her mother. Both women died.

Just hours before her death, Ana Cristina had called the violence in her neighbourhood “unbelievable” on social media , posting that the “shooting has been going on for nearly three hours.”

Two days earlier, Fabio, a doorman returning home from work, was killed by shrapnel from a grenade at the entrance to the Pavão-Pavãozinho favela , a stone’s throw from Ipanema and Copacabana, two of Rio’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.

Even in Brazil, where homicides are all too common , Rio de Janeiro’s crime rate is stunning. It is now impossible not to notice that the city’s Police Pacification Units (UPP), once a much-vaunted anti-violence force, have all but collapsed.

• Community policing

Launched nine years ago, the UPP program stationed some 9,500 officers in some 37 favelas , serving nearly 780,000 people.

This new model, which included components of successful community policing initiatives in Los Angeles and Medellin sought to end violent confrontations between rival gangs, and between police and gangs, by getting weapons out of the favelas and maintaining a permanent police presence.

At first, the media and the public loved the program. Rio saw a significant reduction in robberies in UPP-covered areas and a marked decrease in police killings, which fell from 1,330 in 2007 to 415 in 2013.

Some favela activists and human rights advocates viewed the UPPs as military occupation of low-income neighbourhoods, and predicted that the plan would fail . But the UPPs worked, or seemed to be working, keeping many areas of the city nearly free of shootouts, stray bullets and police killings from 2009 to 2013 .

The bad old days

This was a significant improvement over prior policing strategies in Rio. For two decades, the Rio police had one mission – to weed out the armed groups that had set up shop in all of the city’s 700 favelas – and one method to do it with – firepower.

By the late 1980s, gangs had essentially established territorial control over 1.5 Rio million residents, some 22% of the city’s population. Criminal groups such as the Red Command and The Third Command monopolised not only the drug trade in these areas but also other lucrative activities, such as cooking-fuel sales and alternative public transport.

The groups, which are operating again today, patrolled the streets and alleyways of Rio’s favelas , keeping both police and rival gangs out.

In 1995, the Rio de Janeiro state government hired an army general to try to control crime in the metropolitan region, and the city launched a series of public security policies meant to aggressively confront gangs in some of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, not with investigation or intelligence but with guns .

In short, it has been the war on drugs gone local.

Rather than fix the problem, research shows that these programs were largely responsible for more firmly rooting gangs in these places .

The demise of the UPPs

The UPPs were supposed to change all this, and for a while there they did. So what happened?

Based on studies done by the Centre for Studies on Public Security and Citizenship at Brazil’s Candido Mendes University, it appears that, over time, police officers in favelas have gradually reduced the practice of community policing and become more repressive.

The program’s decline happened gradually but, in retrospect, the 2013 disappearance of bricklayer Amarildo de Souza while in UPP custody in Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio’s wealthy south side, was an inflection point.

Tension between the police and residents rose across the city, but the police did not respond by updating program’s strategies, investing in training or renewing the force’s commitment to keep community policing at the heart of the UPPs .

By 2015, armed gangs had returned to once-pacified favelas such as Morro do Borel in swanky Tijuca, Morro dos Prazeres in bohemian Santa Teresa, and Favela Tabajaras in upscale Copacabana. The UPPs were faltering.

Any remaining vestiges of the mirage of safety crumbled once the Olympics ended, with skirmishes erupting between rival factions or Rio’s gangs – a “signal” for the groups to again take up heavy weaponry.

License to kill

The military police find themselves cornered in the favelas .

The force’s historic disregard for intelligence has come back to haunt it. Lacking sound information and data, young captains are forced to rely on their intuition to deal with the encroaching gangs, choosing between either daily shootouts or a hostile coexistence between gangs and police, depending on the favela .

Feeling stuck, angry and lost, police shoot frequently. At least 480 Rio de Janeiro citizens were killed by police in the first five months of this year alone.

The animation below by Amnesty International’s Fogo Cruzado (Crossfire) app documents all the gunfire in Rio from January to June 2017 – an average of 14 incidents daily.

The license to kill any favela resident perceived to be a criminal has given way to summary executions, which last year represented some 20% of all deaths in the state of Rio de Janeiro .

Cops also kidnap suspects , take bribes to overlook crimes and negotiate to save the lives of criminals, exacerbating violence .

In fairness, things aren’t great for the police right now. Brazil is immersed in a profound economic crisis , so the police haven’t been paid in months. The force can’t even afford to fill its police cruisers with gas.

Operating in dangerous neighbourhoods with little support or guidance from their commanders, UPP officers have reverted to the bad old days of excessive force and full-blown corruption.

The gangs, meanwhile, are following suit: they’re heavily armed, ambitious and bellicose. From January to June 2017, 81 Rio officers were killed (15 while on duty) . Rio de Janeiro’s police kill and die more than any other Brazilian police force.

Amid these hellish conditions, young people in the favelas are starting to speak out. Increasingly, they’re greeted by press coverage and a large audience on social media .

People know what needs to happen first: the police must stop shooting. Then, to dismantle not just the gangs but also the gang mentality burgeoning among Rio’s police, the city must invest in intelligence.

The answer is not new, but it is globally tried and true : to reduce violence, reform the police.

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5 killed in Mexican tourist destination days after 10 bodies discovered around city

F ive people dead and a sixth is wounded after an armed attack in Acapulco, Mexico , the region's prosecutor's office said as the state of the region deteriorates amid cartel violence.

The shocking attack comes just three days after 10 bodies were found in the resort city that attracts thousands of tourists each year because of its beautiful beaches.

According to CBS News , the latest attack happened at a grocery store located in a market near the city's main tourist avenue. The victims were four men and a woman, the Attorney General's Office of the State of Guerrero (Fiscalía General del Estado de Guerrero) said in a statement .

READ MORE: 10 bodies found scattered around glamorous beach vacation spot amid cartel-linked violence

READ MORE: Pictured: Bullet-ridden car left behind after country singer Kevin Hernandez was murdered

"The Attorney General's Office of the State of Guerrero (FGE) initiated an Investigation FIle against the person or persons responsible for the crime of qualified homicide and injuries, the first committed in offense of four men and a woman; the second in grievance of a male, for the events that occurred in the Magallanes Subdivision, belonging to the municipality of Acapulco," the statement reads, according to a translation from the original Spanish.

It continues, "Agents from the Ministerial Investigative Police and the Expert Services went to the scene of the events, who carried out the corresponding investigative acts to obtain the necessary evidence to clarify the crime. The FGE reaffirms its commitment to the people of Guerrero in the fight against impunity."

The city became plagued by cartel violence in recent years, CBS News reported, with the rich and famous who used to visit it now avoiding it over fears that the slaughters — many of which occur in broad daylight — will continue. The outlet reported that the head of the city's traffic police was shot to death last month after assailants opened fire on him.

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Before that, two men were found strangled to death and dumped near Condesa beach in the city, with prosecutors reportedly stating that the men's bodies had signs of torture, with "ligature" marks "around the neck." Around the same time, in February, three people were shot to death on the city's beaches, with a gunman escaping in a boat, CBS News reported.

In the most recent string of murders, six people were found dumped near a market on May 20, two women and four men, who had allegedly been thrown from a car. A shooting that day in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood saw three men dead and another three wounded, and in a touristy destination in the city, a man was shot dead, too, according to local reports.

Organized crime, especially cartel activities, has largely overtaken the still proud city that boasts its touristy attractions — attractions that were damaged immensely by Category 5 Hurricane Otis in October, a storm that left 52 dead and most resorts destroyed or damaged, at the very least. The city is still reportedly recovering from the damage.

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The entire state of Guererro is also among the worst when it comes to drug trafficking in the North American country, with cartel disputes reportedly leading to 1,890 murders in the state in 2023 alone. It's one of six states under a no-travel advisory from the U.S. State Department, which cited crime and violence in its report.

Ahead of the June 2 elections in the country, political violence has run rampant, with several candidates for mayoral and other government offices slain in recent months amid boiling turmoil between politicians and cartels. Mexico is reeling from the string of violence, especially the city of Acapulco.

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Italian tourist shot dead after entering Rio slum on motorcycle

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After china drills, taiwan president again extends goodwill.

Lai Ching-te offered cooperation with China, saying he looked forward to enhancing mutual understanding and reconciliation.

Six newborns have died in a fire at a baby care hospital in India's capital New Delhi, local authorities said on Sunday.

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12 November 2013

Favela Tourism in Brazil

Slum tourism, once a marginalized business few tourists dared to experience, has seen a rapid rise in popularity in Brazil. Find out more about this phenomenon in this article.

Slum tourism in Brazil is one of the most well-known tourist attractions in the world. Alongside India, South Africa and other countries, a large number of tourists visit the country every year with the purpose of getting to know one of the poorest places in the world .

Before 2008, few people considered visiting favelas as a must-do activity from their trips to Rio de Janeir o. Since that year, however, going to favelas has become one of the most popular attractions in the city, with survey data showing that nearly 42,000 Rio tourists visit them per year. Favela tourism continues to rise in double digits and a study found that half of its respondents booked or expected to book a favela tour while in Rio.

Seeing potential in this market, the Brazilian government decided to help increase the number of favelas visitors. In January 2013, the Ministry of Tourism made an agreement with Rio de Janeiro state's government in order to encourage tourism in favelas, which have been pacified. The main target is to get tourists in 2014 and 2016, the years when huge sports and competitions will be held by Brazil – the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.

The guided visits are made by tour operators, and it is preferable to go with a group of tourists and a tour guide who already knows the area, instead of going alone. There are tour operators offering packages of visits that usually last from 2 to 4 hours.

Touristic Points

Although slum tourism is a global trend in the travel industry, the rise of favela tourism is, perhaps, unique to Rio . Favelas such as Rocinha and Vidigal, which were originally illegal settlements on some of Rio’s morros (rock formations), have some of the best views of the city. There are also unique tourist points inside the favelas, such as São Daniel Projeta Church, in Manguinhos, which was designed by Oscar Niemayer, or a Michael Jackson bronze statue in Santa Marta, the slum where the singer recorded the video clip “They Don't Really Care About Us”.

Touristic Guide

The first edition of a favela's tourist guide was launched in July 2013. Compiled by Agência de Notícias das Favelas (ANF), a favelas' news agency that gathers leisure activities in 11 pacified communities in Rio: Chapéu Mangueira, Complexo do Alemão, Complexo do Cantagalo–Pavão-Pavãozinho Mangueira, Manguinhos, Prazeres, Providência, Rocinha, Salgueiro, Santa Marta and Vidigal. A short overview on each favela and tips on how to get to them using public transport is also offered.

The first edition of the guide had 550000 copies and was distributed for free in hotels and kiosks throughout the city. The information available on the paper guide can also be found in the project's website , which is available in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Since December 2008, police pacifier units were installed in the favels UPPs or Unidades Pacificadores de Polícia . More than 18 UPPs are spread in 29 slums all over Rio de Janeiro and the advent of these units contributed to a increase in local tourism. On the internet, foreigners who have already visited a favela in Brazil claim that this is a worthwhile and safe cultural experience.

Foreigners are not free from violence , though: a German tourist was shot during his visit with a friend to Rocinha, in May 2013. According to reports, they had seen a man holding a gun, got scared and started to run. The German was shot twice, helped by a resident and taken to the hospital.

Violence in Rio hasn't stopped due to the increasing tourism in the city. Although violence can be contained (especially in a place that benefits from visitors' spending money), robberies, rapes and shootings still happen, and tourists must be well-informed to avoid becoming victims of these crimes.

The Slum Tourism Controversy

No one can doubt the impact slum tourism causes in their communities, and whether it is right or wrong to take wealthy people to see poverty . The rise in popularity of favela tours, and poverty tourism in general has initiated concerns about the inequality in distribution of rents, arguing that tour operators make money showing off these communities but do nothing to reinvestment or improve the conditions.

Favela tour operators claim that these services are beneficial to the communities they visit because it heightens awareness of the social and economic factors that led to settlement communities and gives tourists a firsthand experience of the poverty that exists in Brazil. They also say that it encourages tourists to spend more money on goods and merchandise within the communities while on the tours.

Nonetheless, activists and residents don't see the visitors as being good sources of money. According to Tourism Concern, Rio’s favelas attract about 3,500 visitors per month, each of whom pay the equivalent of $40 USD for a three-hour tour. Of these visitors, however, 60 percent say that they paid no more than $3 on goods from locals and only 10 percent said that they bought a souvenir of some kind.

It appears that the situation is changing, as NGOs working in favelas have alerted the issue on the internet and affluent tourists have become aware of the situation. Searching online for favela tour sites, it's possible to see that most tour operators advertise the “sustainability” of their services, but many sites now have disclaimers that disclose whether they invest a portion of their returns in the favelas they visit.

It seems that increasing resentment among favela residents and local supporters will continue to shift the debate toward how tour operators can assist the areas they operate in. This will create opportunities for more socially-conscious travel services to benefit from greater visibility of the issue.